Order from judge came 5 days before Gordon's announcement

Cleveland, OH (92.3 The Fan) – Josh Gordon’s absence from the Cleveland Browns may have nothing to do with his battles with substance abuse or addiction according to a report published Thursday by Cleveland television station WKYC TV-3.

According to WKYC’s report, Gordon was ordered by a judge on July 18 to begin paying $6,765 in child support beginning on Aug. 1. Days later, on July 23, Gordon took to Twitter to announce he would not report on time for training camp.

WKYC obtained court records that detailed a paternity case against Gordon, who is the father of 2 children with different mothers.

Gordon is scheduled to earn approximately $800,000 this upcoming season but he was not expected to begin receiving that salary until Sept. 9 – or Week 1 of the NFL season. According to the terms of the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement, Gordon would’ve received a per diem during training camp from the Browns of $1,900 per week.

Court records showed that Gordon did not file income tax returns for 2015 and 2016 while he was suspended for substance abuse violations by the NFL WKYC reported.

Gordon, who has been suspended for a total of 56 games since being selected in the second round of the 2012 supplemental draft, was conditionally reinstated last November by commissioner Roger Goodell and played the final 5 games of the 2017 season.

Gordon led the NFL in receiving yardage in 2013 and he has totaled 3,089 yards and 15 touchdowns in 40 career games.